Judicial Appointments Annual Report

Lord Desai: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the fourth Judicial Appointments Annual Report is to be published and what information this edition will contain.

Lord Irvine of Lairg: The Judicial Appointments Annual Report, covering the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002, is published today. The report includes comprehensive narrative descriptions and statistics on appointments to the judiciary, Queen's Counsel, lay magistrates and general commissioners of income tax. It describes the continuing development of my appointments policies, procedures and initiatives, including the establishment of the Commission for Judicial Appointments and progress in implementing other recommendations from Sir Leonard Peach's 1999 scrutiny. Copies of the report have been placed in both Libraries. The report is also available on the Internet.

US Steel Safeguard

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean on 25 July (WA 114), what products were excluded from United States' restrictions on the importation of steel before the extended deadline of 31 August 2002.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The Government actively supported all UK company requests for exclusion of products covered by the United States steel safeguard. The United States Trade Representative completed its examination of requests on 22 August. In total, 727 were approved, of which 67 or 9 per cent, were requests from UK companies. Around 70 per cent of UK steel trade is now unaffected by the US action.
	Taking the broad product definitions published by the United States Trade Representative, the following numbers of UK products were excluded from the US measures:
	Hot rolled bar: 38
	Cold finished bar: 15
	Cold rolled, flat rolled: 6
	Stainless steel bar: 3
	Welded pipe and tube: 3
	Plate: 1
	Stainless steel wire rod: 1
	Total: 67
	The second round of the process will start next month for exclusions which will apply from March 2003. The Government will continue to offer their full support for all UK company requests.

Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made towards the planned reconvening in November 2002 of the fifth review conference in Geneva of the states parties to the 1975 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, suspended last year; and what will be their position at that reconvened conference.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: When the Fifth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was suspended on 7 December 2001, it was decided to reconvene the conference in Geneva from 11 to 22 November this year. In the interim period Her Majesty's Government published their Green Paper on Countering the Threat from Biological Weapons on 29 April. This paper set out the UK position and listed a series of practical measures which could be put in place. We have been consulting widely on this basis and have continued to work closely with all states parties to the convention in order to achieve a positive outcome when the conference resumes.

Newspapers: Waste Disposal

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the estimated volume of household waste from national newspapers, both daily and weekend; and what is the estimated cost to local authorities and others of collecting and disposing of used newspapers; and
	What percentage of household waste is attributable to used newspapers; and
	What percentage of used newspapers are (a) recycled, or recycled more than once; (b) composted; or (c) incinerated, or otherwise disposed of, for example at landfill sites.

Lord Whitty: Data on the amount and composition of household waste are generally by weight, not volume. Recent estimates indicate that newspapers and magazines comprise at least 1.5 million tonnes of household waste in England, approximately 7 per cent by weight.
	Though highly variable, the average collection cost to local authorities operating kerbside collection of paper for recycling is estimated to be about £75 per tonne, as opposed to an average £25 per tonne for bring sites. Again reflecting local variations in the market for waste treatment options, costs of disposal vary considerably, landfill showing a range of about £6 to £16 per tonne (without adding landfill tax).
	The market value of the recovered paper will depend on its quality and on the demand for it. The Waste and Resources Action Programme is working to overcome barriers in markets for recovered materials and recycled goods; this should help local authorities find buyers for recovered paper, as well as making recycling more economic across all waste streams.
	Assessing the proportion of used newpapers that are recycled is difficult; current estimates are that between 40 per cent and 55 per cent of the 1.5 million tonnes is collected for recyling. There are few data on what happens to the remainder, but it is likely that much of it is landfilled, as 78 per cent of all household waste is currently landfilled.
	Newpapers may be recycled more than once and they comprise roughly 80 per cent of household paper waste sent for recycling in the UK. Under the voluntary agreement that the Newspaper Publishers' Association has with Government, newspapers already contain over 60 per cent recycled material.

Flood and Coastal Defence

Lord Carter: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have published any further reports received under the high level targets set by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for flood and coastal defence.

Lord Whitty: During the Summer Recess we published three reports on the high level targets which are designed to assist in delivery of the Government's policy aims and objectives for flood and coastal defence. Copies were placed in the House Libraries. These reports relate to:
	Target 2—Provision of flood warnings;
	Target 10—Water level management plans;
	Target 12—Development and flood risk.Target 2—Provision of Flood Warnings. This report follows the one published in May of this year and shows the following improvements since the last report was compiled.
	The percentage of flood warnings meeting target has risen by nearly 4 per cent from 67.6 per cent in April 2001 to 71.3 per cent in April 2002.
	The coverage of a direct flood warning system to properties in areas at risk of flooding has risen by 3 per cent from 58 per cent in April 2001 to 61 per cent in April 2002. This is an increase of some 57,000 properties. Since autumn 2000 a further 322,000 properties are covered by the flood warning arrangements. Target 10—Water Level Management Plans. This report summarises the agency's progress in developing and implementing water level management plans (WLMPs) on European sites. Target 12—Development in Areas at Risk from Flooding. This is the first report published since PPG25 was introduced in July 2001 and is the starting point to consider whether these guidelines are working. PPG25 is due to be reviewed in 2004. Future reports will provide a clearer picture as the guidelines are embedded. In general, we are pleased to note that Environment Agency advice on flood risk developments is being accepted and followed by local planning authorities (LPAs).

Water Framework Directive

Lord Carter: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made in implementing the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

Lord Whitty: The Government have today published jointly with the National Assembly for Wales a second consultation paper on the implementation of the EC Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). This technical document, which is the second of three consultations, sets out how the directive will be transposed into national legislation. We have placed copies of the paper in the House Libraries.

Piers: Heritage Lottery Funding

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many piers have received heritage lottery funding during the last six months to date.

Baroness Blackstone: There has been no new funding of piers by the Heritage Lottery Fund in the last six months.

Treasure Trove on Beaches

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	To whom treasure trove, found on beaches, belongs.

Baroness Blackstone: Under both the common law of treasure trove and its successor, the Treasure Act 1996, finds of gold and silver antiquities made by members of the public and declared Treasure at inquest are the property of the Crown. This includes objects found on the foreshore (between mean high water and mean low water, including along tidal rivers).

Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland Institutions

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to table the outstanding annual reports of Waterway Ireland, the Food Safety Promotion Board, the Trade and Business Development Body, the Special European Union Programmes Body, the Foyle Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission and the Language Implementation Body, all set up under the international agreement with the Republic of Ireland on 8 March 1999.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: Following the suspension of devolved government in Northern Ireland on 14 October 2002, the future operation of North/South institutions has been one of the issues under active consideration between the British and Irish Governments. No decisions have yet been taken on matters such as arrangements for publishing the annual reports of the North/South bodies.

Belfast to Bangor NIR Line

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the original projected cost of re-laying the railway line between Belfast and Bangor; what is the actual cost now estimated to be; whether the figures are different; why; and what steps they are taking to address the situation.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: The initial projected cost for the Belfast to Bangor relay was £9.6 million in 1997. An updated appraisal cost of £14.7 million was calculated in April 1999 and the contract was awarded in July 2001 at a budgeted cost of £15.8 million. Translink has advised that the final cost of the project is not yet available as a number of claims from contractors have to be checked, substantiated and agreed. There are also complex contractual and legal issues to be resolved, many of which are related to a change of project management engineer for the works and the delays which arose following a fatality of a contractor's employee. The final costings may not be known for some time. However, indications are that the final cost will significantly exceed the contract price.

Airport Security

Lord Hughes of Woodside: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to review airport security measures.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Aviation security measures remain at an enhanced level following the attacks on 11 September last year. The Government keep these measures under constant review and from time to time additional protective steps will be taken as the situation demands.
	In May this year, as part of the process of continuing review, my right honourable friends the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Transport appointed Sir John Wheeler to conduct an independent examination of airport security. The terms of reference for this work, set out in full in the report Sir John submitted to them on 13 September, included a focus on the threat from serious and organised crime at UK airports and the role of the police service.
	The Government are grateful to Sir John for the care with which he analysed the issues, and we have considered carefully his findings and recommendations. These, together with his introduction to the report, are today being placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The main body of the documents contains information about operational security matters, and for that reason it would not be appropriate to publish the report in its entirety.
	The report endorses the National Aviation Security Programme and the commitment of those working to deliver its objectives. It also makes some valuable recommendations around the need to strengthen strategic direction, to undertake a detailed multi-agency assessment of the potential threats from serious and organised crime, and to overhaul the arrangements by which airports may be designated for policing by uniformed officers. The Government are happy to accept in principle all of Sir John's recommendations. The Department for Transport and the Home Office are working closely together on implementation, which will bring in the police and other control agencies and the airport industry.